For $98 million, Tessler Development is offering one lucky condo buyer “nearly anything that money can buy and the mind can imagine.” In other words, the top penthouse at 172 Madison Avenue.
Dubbed “Le Penthouse,” the 19,815-square-foot residence hit the market Tuesday. Spread over five floors, it is one of the city’s largest residences with 26 rooms, including 11 bedrooms and 14 bathrooms. The unit also has 4,500 square feet of outdoor space, outfitted with a pool and jacuzzi.
“If this is how you love to live, this is your call to action,” reads the listing. “You will love to create this one of a kind white box into a home.” The unit is being sold by Keller Williams NYC’s Efraim Tessler — son of developer Yitzchak Tessler — and colleague Raphael Sitruk. The asking price works out to around $4,945.75 per foot.
The unit is being delivered as a “white box,” Sitruk said.
Contrary to reports that luxury real estate is dead, he said, “the ultra-luxury market always has wealthy buyers ready to buy a dream.” He cited Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ recent deal to buy three units at 212 Fifth Avenue for $80 million. “We have a much bigger apartment and bigger outdoor space,” he said.
The Karl Fischer-designed building has 72 units. It first hit the market in 2015, with Efraim Tessler leading sales.
The developer later brought Compass on board to sell the project. After Compass walked away from the project in 2018, Tessler tapped the Corcoran Group’s Carrie Chiang and Janet Wang to lead sales. At the time, the developer had 32 units out of 72 left to sell, including four penthouses and a townhouse priced between $13 million and $15 million.
Sitruk said he and Efraim Tessler took over sales at 172 Madison in April. In addition to the top penthouse, current listings include a two-bedroom asking $2.5 million and Penthouse B, which is priced at $14 million, according to StreetEasy.
The developer is projecting a total sellout of $320.6 million, according to the Attorney General’s office. In 2017, Tessler closed a $164.3 million condo inventory loan from private equity firm TPG and Deutsche Bank. Last year, Tessler refinanced its debt with a $94.5 million loan from Deutsche Bank.